Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) placed four satellites in designated orbits using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C18 ( PSLV-C18).

"The launch was a great success," said ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan, at a press conference at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. He says,
"It demonstrates again the reliability and versatility of PSLV as a launching platform."

The primary payload was the 1000kg weather satellite, Megha-Tropiques, developed jointly by ISRO and the French national space agency, CNES.

28.7kg VesselSat-1 from Luxembourg and two student satellites - the 3kg Jugnu from IIT Kanpur and the 10.9kg SRMSat from SRM University in Chennai were also launched using this PSLV- C18.

Megha-Tropiques will study climatic and atmospheric conditions in the tropics and help predict monsoons, cyclones, floods and droughts.

Jugnu will focus on imaging the earth in the near-infrared region.

SRMSat will attempt to address global warming and pollution by monitoring carbon-dioxide and water vapour levels in the atmosphere.

VesselSat will help locate ships in the sea lanes.

Since PSLV launch frequency is getting increased, India plans to start another launch site. An ISRO official said that a new assembly plant could take up to five years to complete if the work begins now.